There has been a lot of talk about Lucy Liu, her radically against type performance, and how she knocks it out of the park in the tragic drama Rosemead and it's all warranted. Liu is transformational here and truly remarkable in a difficult role. The fact that she has remained out of the "awards" talk is an additional tragedy as this is a stunning performance in a compelling film.
The film is quietly powerful. The approach of the story is to stick pretty close to the plot and just let the story unfold. Liu and Shou build credible characters and tell a story that is so terribly sad. The story centres on Liu's character's physical health and Shou's character's mental health yet it is remarkable that the film never implies that anything failed him or his family. It just sits with how difficult their health issues are so challenging and unsolvable that this story has to play out. I think that made it even more challenging a reality to exist in.
Together the two actors do a wonderful job and the film keeps its pacing strong so it all feels very real and engaging. By the time it reaches its conclusion it again takes a very quiet and thoughtful approach to let its audience sit with the immense sadness it is presenting. I hope this leads to Liu getting even more diverse roles as she clearly can stand out.
Rosemead
Starring: Lucy Liu, Lawrence Shou
Director: Eric Lin
Writer: Marilyn Fu
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